JAMES CITY (COUNTY) — The finish was every bit as predictable as ``Independence Day.'' You knew the earthlings would reclaim their planet, and deep down you had to know Scott Hoch would run away and hide Sunday afternoon.

Hoch birdied his first three holes and left little suspense, finishing a solid week with a final-round 67 to win the Michelob Championship by four shots. Hoch set a tournament record at 19-under 265 and became the first wire-to-wire winner in the event's 30-year history.

Hoch's final round typified his week on Kingsmill's River Course: nothing all that spectacular, but mistake-free and steady. He had 22 birdies and five bogeys for the tournament in becoming only the third player this year to lead after every round.

``I did what I needed to do,'' said Hoch, whose championship was his first in 1996. ``It wasn't pretty, but I hit enough good shots, enough good putts, to get the job done. Other than stretches, my putting was outstanding.

``For a tournament, I really can't remember making as many putts over 15 or 20 feet as I did here. Other than stretches like the second round, I converted almost all of my good shots. That's key, because when you get a lot of good shots and don't convert them, you get frustrated.''

Hoch (64-68-66-67-265) finished four shots ahead of Tom Purtzer, who shot a final-round 66 for his best finish in five years. Michael Bradley, Fred Funk and defending champion Ted Tryba were next at 12-under.

With the $225,000 paycheck to the winner, Hoch improved his 1996 earnings to $858,005 - already more than his total in any other year. He also jumped to fifth on the PGA Tour's money list with his first title since the Greater Milwaukee Open 10 months ago.

Hoch went into Sunday's final round with a 4-stroke lead, knowing full well that many were remembering the 5-shot lead he blew in last year's Houston Open. There would be no such fade this time. Hoch made birdie on the first three holes Sunday morning with putts of 15, 5 and 1 feet.

``I started out all right,'' Hoch said. ``I think that was really the key. I did what I wanted to do, especially the second hole being a difficult hole. I wanted to start out pretty quick, and I couldn't ask for much more than that.

``I tried to be aggressive early and even surprised myself a little bit because I was hoping to birdie two of the first three. Two is a very difficult hole. To birdie that one, that was a big plus.''

The only one to mount a semi-serious challenge to Hoch's lead was Purtzer (66-68-69-66-269), who pulled to within three shots after he birdied No. 10 and Hoch followed with a bogey on the same hole. But on 11, Hoch made a 20-foot birdie putt to push his lead back to four shots.

Hoch raised his right index finger into the air a few seconds before the putt dropped. At that moment, the rest of the field was playing for second.

``I knew he wasn't going to backtrack any,'' Purtzer said. ``He got off to such a great start. I mean, it wasn't really over after the first three holes, but it was pretty much. He's a seasoned player and he's putting well, and all those things equal bad news for everybody else.''

On a hot and humid day, Hoch beat the tournament record shared by three players - Lanny Wadkins, Mike Hulbert and Kenny Knox - by one shot. He also ended up with the biggest margin of victory here since Wadkins won by five shots in '90.

Coasting all the way, Hoch said the big lead forced him to play more conservative than he would like.

``I hit more 3-woods today off the tee and I didn't go for as many pins,'' he said. ``On the backside, I hit about all my shots kind of where I wanted to. That's one thing I did well today.

``I played differently because I had the lead. That's the difference right there. That's why it's easier when you have a 3- or 4-shot lead, because you have the luxury of doing that.''

No one had to remind him of last year's Houston Open, where he blew all of that 5-stroke lead on the back nine and lost to Payne Stewart on the first playoff hole. Hoch didn't mention it, either, until he had the winner's check.

``I have a good record as a frontrunner,'' Hoch said. ``What happened at Houston has helped me a lot since. I've led a lot of tournaments and that's the only one recently that I haven't won. I took that one for granted but here, I wasn't feeling too confident about it.

``Probably when I parred 16 I started to relax a bit. But that has helped me in the way I play other tournaments.''

On the PGA Tour's career money list of active players, the 40-year-old Hoch is now 13th - ahead of Mark Calcavecchia, ahead of Hale Irwin, even ahead of Jack Nicklaus. Sunday's championship was his seventh since turning pro in 1979, but Hoch knows he needs to nail down one of the four majors to be regarded as one of the game's best players.

``I've had a pretty good year this year, actually a really good year,'' Hoch said. ``People said that I hadn't won, but I had a couple of seconds and thirds, and that's pretty good. If Mark O'Meara hadn't played in a couple of those I would have won. So I'm glad he wasn't here.''